Obituary: Helen Lucile Anna Miller, 94

Helen Lucile Anna Miller, 94, died Aug. 22 at Hospice Care of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. She was born Aug. 17, 1918 near Tecumseh to Ernest and Fannie (Prill) Miller. She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church where she was an active member all of her life.

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Nebraska City News-Press - Nebraska City, NE

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Posted Sep. 13, 2012 at 1:54 PM
Updated Sep 13, 2012 at 1:55 PM

Posted Sep. 13, 2012 at 1:54 PM
Updated Sep 13, 2012 at 1:55 PM

GREELEY, Colo.

Helen Lucile Anna Miller, 94, died Aug. 22 at Hospice Care of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. She was born Aug. 17, 1918 near Tecumseh to Ernest and Fannie (Prill) Miller. She was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church where she was an active member all of her life.

During World War II, she worked for the federal government in Washington, D.C. She earned her bachelor’s degree and, after three years in a children’s service agency, earned her master’s in social work at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

She worked at a residential treatment center for children in Iowa then returned to Nebraska in 1960 to work at a social services unit and at University of Nebraska supervising graduate students’ practicums.

In 1967, she went to Korea as part of the Lutheran World Relief work helping develop children’s services there. She then was transferred to Indonesia to help the government improve its research methods and focus. She returned to the United States in 1974 to work in intercountry adoptions, helping to create a widely-used booklet about helping children cope with being “different.”

She was grateful to the Lord for her opportunities to visit other countries. In her retirement, she enjoyed auditing college courses, brailling for the blind and tutoring in elementary schools. In Greeley, she was a member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, the American Association of University Women, Greeley Exchange Club and GRASP study program for seniors.

She was preceded by sister Frances Miller in 2003, sister Evelyn Zabel in 2007 and brother-in-law Lawrence Zabel in 1997.

She is survived by nephew Steven (Laura) Zabel of Lakewood, Colo.; nieces Susan (Joe) Dryburgh of King of Prussia, Pa., Carolyn (Dr. Jeff) Hoffman of Guttenberg, Iowa, and Patricia (Everett) Zabel-Baltz of North Platte; nine great nieces and nephews; and three Cambodian families whom she sponsored to come to the United States.

Memorial services are Saturday, Sept. 29, at 1:30 p.m. at the Borgmann Chapel at Bonell Good Samaritan Center in Greeley with Rev. Milbern Goetz officiating. Inurnment will be Saturday, Oct. 6 at 11:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Cemetery in Cook.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Hospice of Northern Colorado, Bonell Good Samaritan Center or Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, all in Greeley.